FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received about demonstrations in Colombia by the human rights movement known as the Patriotic March.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), on 4 September 2012, Official Report, column 299W, to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).

Gibraltar

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Spanish Government over the incursion by Guardia Civil vessels into Gibraltarian waters on the nights of 23 and 24 May 2012 despite receiving repeated orders from the Royal Navy to leave.

David Lidington: We were deeply concerned by the incursions on 23 and 24 May. We protested formally to the Spanish authorities soon after the incursions took place. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed this with Spanish Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo on 29 May. Spanish agencies do not have any jurisdiction in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW). We are confident of UK sovereignty over BGTW and are committed to upholding UK sovereignty. We make this clear to the Spanish Government whenever appropriate.

Nigeria

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of reports of attacks on churches in Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Ongoing inter-communal conflict and attacks by violent extremists have caused suffering in both Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria. Responsibility for many of these attacks, including increasingly those against places of worship, has been claimed by the Islamic extremist group commonly known as Boko Haram. Boko Haram has also claimed responsibility for attacks against political and traditional leaders, as well as members of Nigeria's security forces. We assess that such attacks aim to provoke religious divides in an otherwise tolerant nation. The British Government condemn all such instances of violence.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Arctic: Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the data released by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration which indicated that the Arctic sea ice extent reached a record minimum on 27 August 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Observations made by NASA and others show that this summer's Arctic sea-ice extent is already lower than the previous record, set in 2007 and is now close to minimum, which usually occurs around mid-September.
	This has been caused by a continuing long-term decline in late summer extent and a reduction in average sea-ice thickness (where measured). This summer, the exceptionally rapid decline was partly due to unusual weather conditions.
	Model projections suggest that an essentially sea-ice free Arctic in late summer will be a regular occurrence sometime after 2030 but recent observations do show that sea-ice extent is declining more rapidly than most models have shown to date.
	Continued reductions in sea-ice extent will provide a positive feedback on Arctic warming and thus increase the risk of increased methane and carbon dioxide release. This is an area of significant research, which my Department is supporting through the Climate Programme at the Met Office Hadley Centre.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average time taken was by his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period.

Gregory Barker: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Ministerial responses September 2011 to August 2012 
			 Question Response 
			 Average time taken to respond: 12.79 days 
			 (a) Response longer than 1 month - i.e. 1 month to 6 weeks 330 cases or 4.6% 
			 (b) Response longer than 6 weeks- i.e. 6 weeks to 2 months 253 cases or 3.5% 
			 (c) Response longer than 2 months- i.e. 2 months to 3 months 167 cases or 2.3% 
			 (d) Response longer than 3 months- i.e. 3 months to 6 months 69 cases or 1.0% 
			 (e) Response longer than 6 months- i.e. anything over 6 months 2 cases or 0.03% 
		
	
	This report counts every ministerial case (from hon. Members and Peers) between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012.

Energy

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what comparative study his Department has made of UK energy policy and the decentralised energy generation and ownership model in Germany.

Gregory Barker: Whilst no comparative study by DECC has been undertaken between the UK and the decentralised energy generation model adopted in Germany, DECC officials have examined German policies on combined heat and power in the process of developing a scheme for the UK.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 443, on energy bills, what the evidential basis is for his statement that one million pensioners will receive a £130 reduction in their bills in this financial year.

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount Scheme Core Group element requires, by law, participating energy supply companies to provide £130 discounts off the energy bills of customers notified to them by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey).
	The Government use limited data sharing between energy companies and the Department for Work and Pensions to inform energy companies which customers should receive this discount.
	In 2012-13, to be eligible for the Warm Home Discount Core Group, pensioners will need on 21 July 2012 (the qualifying date) to either be aged under 80 and receiving only the guarantee credit element of pension credit or be aged 80 or over and receiving the guarantee credit element of pension credit. In addition, the pensioner, their partner or appointee needs to be named on their electricity bill and to receive their electricity from one of the energy suppliers participating in the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
	We know that on 21 July 2012 some 1.4 million pensioners were in receipt of the benefits set out above. We can use information for the 2011-12 Warm Home Discount Scheme Core Group to estimate how many of these pensioners are likely to be found through data matching (and who receive the discount automatically) and how many will not be matched automatically (but are expected to receive a letter informing them that they may be eligible, meet the eligibility requirements for being named on the bill and using a participating energy supplier and then make a successful claim). In 2011-12, a total of over 78% of this group were matched automatically or made a successful claim.
	Since there have been no significant changes to the process, we have estimated that at least a similar percentage will be successful for the 2012-13 scheme year. On this basis, we expect around one million pensioners to be notified to the energy suppliers this winter.

Fuel Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to his Department's document, “Estimated impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills”, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of fuel poverty of rising energy costs attributable to energy policies.

Gregory Barker: Each year, DECC measures and publishes estimates of the number of fuel poor households in England. The current definition of fuel poverty means that a household is fuel poor if it would need to spend more than 10% of income on adequate energy services in the home. The latest estimates, which were published by the Department in May 2012, showed that there were 3.5 million fuel poor households in England in 2010 and that this was expected to increase to 3.9 million households by 2012. These estimates reflect all of the key drivers of fuel poverty: energy prices, household incomes, energy efficiency of the housing stock and the effect of Government policies.
	The Department has not made an assessment of the aggregate impact of rising energy costs attributable to energy policies in future years on fuel poverty. However, the fuel poverty impacts of particular policies are often produced as part of policy impact assessments, particularly where those policies have particular significance to fuel poverty. As a good example, see the recently published impact assessment of the Green Deal.

Fuel Poverty

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 2001, what assessment he has made of his Department's progress towards eradicating fuel poverty for all households in England by 2016.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government are committed to doing all that is reasonably practicable to end fuel poverty in England by 2016 and to supporting low-income vulnerable households heat their homes at an affordable cost.
	The current definition of fuel poverty means that a household is fuel poor if it would need to spend more than 10% of income on adequate energy services in the home. The latest estimates, which were published by the Department in May 2012, showed that there were 3.5 million fuel poor households in England in 2010 (which was around 0.5 million households lower than in 2009) and that this was expected to increase to 3.9 million households by 2012.
	Although the number of households in fuel poverty reduced between 2009 and 2010, fuel poverty remains a huge challenge. This Government have a range of policies to address the contributing factors of fuel poverty, including Warm Front, Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, Warm Home Discount, winter fuel payments and cold weather payments. In the future, the new Green Deal and energy company obligation will be our flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock.

Geothermal Power: Iceland

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 446, on geothermal energy, if he will make a statement on the memorandum of understanding with the Icelandic Government on geothermal heat and power.

Charles Hendry: I signed a memorandum of understanding with the Icelandic Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism on co-operation in the energy sector on 30 May 2012. In this the two Ministries agreed, “inter alia”, to exchange information and co-operate to support the development of the deep geothermal sector in the UK, including in the supply of heat to district heating networks.
	Iceland has considerable knowledge and experience in the deep geothermal sector from which we hope to be able to learn to promote such developments in the UK.

Nuclear Power Stations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to announce details of the financing and timetable for new nuclear power stations.

Charles Hendry: The Government are committed to ensuring that conditions are right for investment in new nuclear in the UK and continue to work with interested parties to secure this investment. We have completed our facilitative actions on planning, financing for decommissioning and waste disposal and reactor design and set out reforms to transform the power sector to enable future low carbon investment, including new nuclear. It is for energy companies to construct, operate and decommission nuclear power stations without public subsidy. Industry has set out its plans to develop up to 16GW of new nuclear power in the UK by 2025.

Regulation

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made an estimate of the (a) cost and (b) time required for a business to comply with each piece of regulation for which it is responsible.

Gregory Barker: The cost and time required for a business to comply with new domestic regulation are calculated in line with the one-in, one-out methodology. The Government publish the Statement of New Regulation twice a year; this gives an overview of the net cost to business from new domestic regulation.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date he last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed.

Gregory Barker: DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in the Scotland Office and other Departments to discuss a range of issues. As has been the case with successive Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Accountability

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to increase the accountability of the civil service.

Francis Maude: The Civil Service Reform Plan, published in June, set out first steps to sharpen accountability, including clarifying and making more transparent the responsibilities of accounting officers, and strengthening the role of Ministers in departmental and permanent secretary appointments.

Efficiency and Reform Agenda

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress his Department has made on his efficiency and reform agenda.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell) at oral questions earlier today.

Voluntary Sector Funding

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the total reduction in funding to the voluntary sector in 2011-12.

Nick Hurd: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mrs Glindon) and the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) at oral questions today.

Charity Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in how many cases the Charity Commission has exercised its power to remove a trustee in each year since 2002.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger, dated 4 September 2012
	I have been asked to reply to your Written Parliamentary Question asking in how many cases the Charity Commission has exercised its power to remove a trustee in each year since 2002 (118826).
	The Commission exercises its power to remove trustees under section 79 of the Charities Act 2011 and formerly section 18(2) of the Charities Act 1993.
	The number of removal orders made in each year was as follows:
	
		
			  Number of times power exercised 
			 2002-03 1 
			 2003-04 12 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 6 
			 2006-07 8 
			 2007-08 4 
			 2008-09 4 
			 2009-10 2 
			 2010-11 1 
			 2011-12 0 
		
	
	We do not hold central records for this information prior to 2007/8 the figures shown above for the years 2002/3 to 2005/7 have been obtained from manual searches of information that we still hold and to which we have ready access. There were at least this many removal orders made in each year
	Since 2007/8, we have published information about the number of times we have exercised various compliance and regulatory powers, including suspensions and removals of trustees, in an annual publication called “Back on Track”, which is available to view on our website:
	http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Our_regulatory_activity/Compliance_reports/Back_on_TRACK_index.aspx

Prostate Cancer

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many men in England were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of survival rates for men with prostate cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions.
	Detailed information about whether a cancer was advanced at the time of diagnosis is not routinely recorded for individual cancer registrations sent to ONS for processing and publishing as National Statistics.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer (incidence) in England are for the year 2010. There were 34,892 newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer in 2010.(1, 2, 3)
	Table 1 provides the latest one-year and five-year survival estimates for men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England, for men diagnosed in 2005-2009 and followed up to 2010.
	The latest published figures on cancer incidence in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
	The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-survival/index.html
	(1) Prostate cancer is coded as C61 in the International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
	(2 )Newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year.
	(3) Figures for England exclude cancer registrations for non-residents.
	
		
			 Table 1. One-year and five-year relative survival (percentage), with 95% confidence intervals (CI), for males diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005-09, England(1, 2, 3) 
			 Males 
			  One-year survival Five-year survival 
			  Percentage 95% CI Percentage 95% CI 
			 Age-standardised 93.5 93.3 93.7 81.4 80.9 81.9 
			 (1) Prostate cancer is coded as C61 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Adult patients aged 15-99. (3) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. Source: Office for National Statistics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Unemployment

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the average working age unemployment rate was in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) nationally in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many (a) women and (b) men were unemployed in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationally in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many (a) men and (b) women were in employment in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationally in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking what the average working age unemployment rate was in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) nationally in each of the last five years; how many (a) women and (b) men were in unemployment in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationally in each of the last five years; how many (a) men and (b) women were in employment in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationally in each of the last five years. (118923 118924 & 118926)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1, shows the unemployment rate of persons aged 16 to 64 resident in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK. This definition differs from the normal preferred measures of unemployment, which are based on the number of unemployed aged 16+. Figures have been provided for the APS 12 month period April 2011 to March 2012 the most recent period available and previous APS periods ending March for 2008 to 2011.
	Table 2 shows the number of persons aged 16+ unemployed by gender, resident in the requested geographies for the APS periods ending March for 2008 to 2012.
	Table 3 shows the number of persons aged 16+ employed by gender, resident in the requested geographies for the APS periods ending March for 2008 to 2012.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment and unemployment are available from the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Unemployment rates(1) for people aged 16 -64 resident in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside, the North East and the UK in each year since 2008 
			 Percentage 
			 12 months ending: Jarrow South Tyneside North East UK 
			 March 2008 6.6 6.2 6.5 5.2 
			 March 2009 6.3 8.2 8.3 6.3 
			 March 2010 8.4 13.3 10.0 8.0 
			 March 2011 11.7 12.9 10.3 7.7 
			 March 2012 10.9 12.2 11.0 8.2 
			 (1) As percentage of economically active. Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of persons unemployed(1) by gender resident in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside, the North East and the UK in each year since 2008 
			 Thousand 
			  Jarrow South Tyneside North East UK 
			 12 months ending Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 March 2008 — — 2 2 47 33 902 689 
			 March 2009 — — 4 2 58 44 1,134 786 
			 March 2010 — — 7 3 76 46 1,497 952 
			 March 2011 — — 6 3 79 49 1,425 950 
			          
			 March 2012(2) ****— ****— ***6 ***3 **84 **52 *1,483 *1,058 
			 ‘—’ Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. (1) Levels of employment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of persons employed(1) by gender resident in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside, the North East and the UK in each year since 2008 
			 Thousand 
			  Jarrow South Tyneside North East UK 
			 12 months ending Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 March 2008 21 19 35 32 614 546 15,817 13,412 
			 March 2009 19 19 34 32 609 544 15,712 13,443 
			 March 2010 19 17 32 31 587 535 15,332 13,352 
			 March 2011 20 19 34 31 599 535 15,504 13,388 
			 March 2012(2) **20 **18 **35 **30 *593 *522 *15,570 *13,446 
			 (1) Levels of employment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

TRANSPORT

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of automatic number plate recognition cameras in operation by region.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not hold information of the total number of automatic number plate recognition cameras in operation by region.
	Automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) are operated mainly by police forces, the Highways Agency and the DVLA.
	The Highways Agency operates 1,100 ANPR cameras at 736 decision points on the network for the purposes of traffic management. A list of camera deployment locations can be found at:
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/aboutus/documents/CRS_605073_ANPR_camera_locations_by_journey_time_section.pdf

Aviation: Disability

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has plans to increase legislative obligations on UK and international airlines to provide wheelchair access to aircraft.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport has no plans to increase legislation on this issue. EC Regulation 1107/2006 gives disabled air travellers and persons of reduced mobility access to air travel and assistance when they fly to and from Europe. It imposes legal obligations on airport managing bodies, air carriers and their agents or tour operators.

Aviation: Greater London

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of go-around incidents involving commercial aircraft that have taken place at London airports in each month since January 2002.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport does not hold this information, but any go-around incident which may have endangered the aircraft or passengers must be reported to the independent aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.

Biofuels

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation mechanism for small and medium-sized enterprises providing biofuel made from UK recycled food waste products.

Norman Baker: The amended Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 provides additional support to biofuels made from waste by awarding two renewable transport fuel certificates (RTFCs) for each litre supplied. This means that biofuels made from waste now receive double the incentive provided for biofuels made from crops which meet mandatory sustainability criteria.
	The value of RTFCs is determined by the market. Demand and prices will fluctuate during the year for various reasons, including the price of oil. We will be reviewing double certification for biofuels made from waste in 2013 to ensure that it is having a positive effect on the biofuel industry.

Biofuels

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the sales volume was of biofuels made from recycled food waste products in the UK for road fuel in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will estimate the likely sales in 2012-13.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport administers the RTFO and produces statistics on the supply of biofuel and biogas in the UK by country of origin and feedstock, and reports performance. Data is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/biofuels/
	In obligation year 2010-11 514 million litres (34%) of biofuel/biogas reported under the RTFO was produced from recycled food waste products. Verified data is not yet available for 2011-12. The latest reported data suggests 494 million litres (50%) of biofuel/biogas reported under the RTFO was produced from recycled food waste products between April 2011 and December 2012. Data for 2012-13 will be available in due course.

Blue Badge Scheme

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to his Department's Personal Independence Payment and eligibility for a Blue Badge consultation, whether the current eligibility criterion of being registered blind will be retained in addition to any new criteria under each of the three options.

Norman Baker: Yes, I can confirm that the current eligibility criterion for those people who are registered blind will remain and will be unaffected by the proposals in the current consultation.

Carbon Budgets

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the likely contribution of the transport sector to the second and third carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act 2008.

Norman Baker: The Government's Carbon Plan, published in December 2011 and available via the website of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, sets out in detail how all sectors, including the transport sector, are expected to contribute to meeting the carbon budgets that have been set under the Climate Change Act 2008. The Government has not set emissions reduction targets for individual sectors, but various possible future emissions scenarios for different sectors including transport are modelled in the Carbon Plan and its analytical appendices.

Cycling: Helmets

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential safety benefits of making it compulsory for cyclists to wear helmets; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to review the evidence on helmet wearing and a link to their 2009 report (TRL report 446 “The potential for cycle helmets to prevent injury”) can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/research-and-statistical-reports
	The main focus of the TRL report was on the effectiveness of cycle helmets in the event of an accident. The report also undertook a literature review for its real life outcomes, but concluded that it was not possible to quantify the scale, if any, of real life benefit.

Cycling: Helmets

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered bringing forward proposals to make compulsory the wearing of helmets by cyclists.

Norman Baker: We have no plans to make the wearing of cycle helmets compulsory. In line with the Highway Code rule 59, we encourage their use by all cyclists and in particular by children.

E-mail

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons his Department does not operate a dedicated e-mail account for hon. Members to send correspondence directly to Ministers; and what plans his Department has to establish such an account.

Norman Baker: The email addresses for Ministers at the Department for Transport are:
	Patrick.McLoughlin@dft.gsi.gov.uk
	Simon.Burns@dft.gsi.gov.uk
	Norman.Baker@dft.gsi.gov.uk
	Stephen.Hammond@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Equality Act 2010

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant, to the written ministerial statement of 15 September 2010, Official Report, column 49WS, on the Equality Act 2010, when he plans to implement fully section 165 of the Equality Act 2010.

Norman Baker: We are still considering the case for commencing section 165 of the Equality Act 2010. I intend to make an announcement in the near future.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many fines have been issued to registered keepers of uninsured vehicles since continuous insurance enforcement came into effect on 20 June 2011;
	(2)  what estimates he has made of the change in the number of uninsured drivers on the road as a result of continuous insurance enforcement.

Stephen Hammond: The number of uninsured vehicles in Great Britain has fallen to 1.2 million from 1.4 million in 2010 due to a combination of police enforcement activity (better detection through Automatic Number Plate Recognition equipment and seizure of uninsured vehicles) as well as the continuous insurance enforcement scheme. As these enforcement measures complement each other it is not possible to determine the proportion of the decrease directly attributable to the continuous insurance enforcement scheme.
	At 31 August 2012 177,086 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued to registered keepers and 834 cases successfully prosecuted.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of unregistered foreign vehicles in the UK;
	(2)  how many registered foreign vehicles there were in the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not made any estimates of the number of unregistered foreign vehicles in the UK. However, the Department has estimated that 0.41% of distance driven by vehicles in Great Britain during 2011 was driven by foreign registered vehicles. Vehicles from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands are not counted as ‘foreign'.
	Further statistics on foreign vehicles can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics?orderby=title&post_type=table&s=tra32

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many unregistered foreign vehicles that should have been registered have been identified in the UK in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not hold those data.
	There is no central database that records foreign registered vehicles. Foreign registered vehicles temporarily brought into the UK by overseas residents are usually exempt from UK registration and licensing under EU legislation. This exemption allows a vehicle which is compliant in its home country to be used by the visitor for up to six months in any 12-month period, or until the visitor becomes resident in the UK.
	Any estimates that we could produce would be extremely inaccurate because there are no reliable tracking methodologies.
	In 2010-11 (most recent numbers available), the number of vehicles registered in another country who applied to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to be registered in GB was 99,421.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the 50% discount on penalty charge notices for payments made within 14 days.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with local authorities on the subject of the 50% discounted rate for payment of penalty charges notices within 14 days.
	Local authorities have a statutory obligation under part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to offer a 50% discount for payment of penalty charges made within 14 days of receipt. The Secretary of State advises English local authorities in the Operational Guidance, Parking Policy and Enforcement, that if an informal challenge is received within the discount period and subsequently rejected, the enforcement authority should consider re-offering the discount for a further 14 days.
	Advice and legal references regarding the penalty charge discounted rate is obtainable at the following web link:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/tma-part-6-cpe-guidance/parkingenforcepolicy.pdf

Post Offices: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the provision of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services in post offices.

Norman Baker: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a five year contract with Post Office Ltd that expires on 31 March 2013. A procurement exercise is currently under way to tender these services as part of a wider front office counter services framework.
	As part of the tender evaluation process, DVLA will compare the bids from potential suppliers and the contract will be awarded according to the most economically advantageous tender submitted which includes full consideration of the cost benefits and quality features of the services offered.

Railways

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the High Level Output Specification announced on 16 July 2012, how much of the funding will be provided by (a) the Exchequer and (b) fare-payers in (i) cash and (ii) percentage terms; and what the effect of this expenditure will be on Network Rail's debt level.

Norman Baker: Exchequer funding for the railway in England and Wales is set out in Table 1 of High Level Output Specification:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hlos-2012/railways-act-2005.pdf
	Future fare-box revenue is a commercial matter for the train operators and will depend on the bids received for franchise competitions.
	The level of Network Rail's debt is a matter for Network Rail within the limits set by its regulator.

Railways: Concessions

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that 16 to 25 railcards are subject to the same restrictions on time of travel as other railcards.

Norman Baker: It is for the Association of Train Operating Companies to propose changes to the 16 to 25 Railcard. The restrictions on time of travel for the 16 to 25 railcard are similar to those for the HM Forces Railcard. The restrictions for the 16 to 25 railcard could be argued to be more generous within the London and south East than those for the Senior Railcard.

Railways: Fares

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the potential effect on rail ticket prices of the High Level Output Specification programme for 2014-19.

Simon Burns: The High Level Output Specification was drawn up on the basis of our current agreed regulated fares policy as set out in the 2010 comprehensive spending review as updated in the autumn of 2011: a rise in 2012 of RPI+1% and RPI+3% for 2013 and 2014, returning to RPI+1% thereafter. The Government are committed, once savings are found in rail and the improvement in the wider economic situation permits, to reducing and then abolishing above-inflation rises in average regulated fares.

Railways: Franchises

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take account of station usage figures when determining timetable specifications for any future rail franchise in Kent.

Simon Burns: The Department takes account of all relevant data, including station usage statistics, in the development of franchise specifications.

Renewable Energy

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the likely contribution of the transport sector to the Government's renewable energy target of 15 per cent by 2020 under the Renewable Energy Directive.

Norman Baker: The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) contains a target for the UK to source 10% of energy used in transport, from renewable sources, such as biofuels, by 2020. We expect much of the progress towards that target to be made through the supply of biofuel.
	In implementing the RED in December 2011, we did not increase the targets relevant to biofuel supply set under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation because of uncertainties over the sustainability of certain biofuels and the need to address the issue of indirect land use change at EU level. We will continue to consider what additional measures will be required to ensure that the UK delivers the requirements of the RED in the period 2014 to 2020.

Road Traffic Control

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on proposals to amend requirements placed on traffic authorities that propose and make temporary and permanent traffic orders.

Norman Baker: We are currently considering the responses from the public consultation and will announce the outcome and way forward in due course.

Roads: Safety

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to measure public perceptions of road safety.

Stephen Hammond: An indicator about perceptions of road safety is one of the indicators planned for the road safety outcomes framework, contained in the Strategic Road Safety Framework published in May 2011. Research is in progress about developing an accurate and robust indicator.
	The annual British Social Attitudes Survey includes a section about public perceptions, including in relation to safety on residential streets, drink and drug driving, the use of speed cameras on roads and the use of mobile phones while driving.

Rolling Stock

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 43W, on rolling stock, for what reason the projected carriage numbers for the Intercity Express Programme rolling stock contract have been reduced since May 2010.

Simon Burns: The projected number of carriages for the Intercity Express Programme rolling stock contract fell from 950 to slightly more than 750 under the previous Administration, but has not decreased substantially since May 2010. A small number of carriages were reallocated in later phases of IEP, rather than in the first phase, and following ongoing reviews of how the train sets can be deployed. Agility Trains proposed delivering a similar level of service with a lower number of carriages as a result of more efficient deployment of rolling stock.

Rolling Stock

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he will take to ensure that economies of scale in rolling stock purchasing and cascade are maintained in the event of the devolution of rail franchising to the north of England.

Simon Burns: We are still considering responses from the recent consultation on the possibility of devolving decision-making on passenger rail services in England.
	As we said in paragraph 4.65 of the Department for Transport's publication, “Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First”, CM 8313, in future the Government will give greater flexibility to franchisees over the rolling stock decisions they make when bidding for franchises.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to reform air passenger duty; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Changes to the structure of air passenger duty were considered as part of last year's consultation, launched at Budget 2011. The Government's response, published on 6 December 2011, can be found online here:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_airpassenger.htm

Business: Loans

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of likely overall levels of lending under the National Loan Guarantee Scheme.

David Gauke: Over £2.6 billion of loans have been offered to businesses so far under the National Loan Guarantee Scheme.

Business: Loans

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to place a geographical quota on the National Loan Guarantee Scheme.

David Gauke: There are no plans to place a geographical quota on the National Loan Guarantee Scheme.

National Insurance Fund

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the balance was in the National Insurance Fund at the end of each financial year since 1999-2000 setting out (a) the monetary balance and (b) that balance expressed as a proportion of benefit payments in the previous financial year.

David Gauke: The data requested can be found in the National Insurance Fund published Accounts, within the Receipts and Payments Account section.
	Further detailed information on the closing balance and benefit payments is contained within the notes to the accounts.

Working Tax Credit

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were awarded working tax credits in (a) England and Wales, (b) the east midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC publication ‘Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Finalised annual awards. Geographical analysis’. Information for the last three years available can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm
	The last three years available are 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. In the publications for each of these years, the number of families benefiting from working tax credit (WTC) in England and Wales and the east midlands can be found in table 1a. The number of families benefiting from WTC in Nottinghamshire is in table 2 and the number in Ashfield is in table 3.
	For convenience, these figures have been reproduced in the following table:
	
		
			 Average number of families benefiting from WTC 
			 Thousand 
			  In-work families  
			  With children    
			   Receiving CTC only  With no children  
			  Receiving WTC and CTC More than the family element Family element or less Of which: lone parents Receiving WTC only Total in-work families 
			 2010-11       
			 England and Wales 1,740 647 1,419 1,060 468 4,274 
			 East Midlands 149 61 128 87 43 381 
			 Nottinghamshire 24.0 10.4 23.3 14.9 7.3 65.0 
			 Ashfield 3.6 1.5 3.1 1.9 1.3 9.5 
			 England and Wales 1,672 637 1,475 1,041 414 4,198 
			        
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10       
			 East Midlands 144 60 133 85 38 375 
			 Nottinghamshire 23.2 10.3 24.5 14.5 6.4 S4.4 
			 Ashfield 3.5 1.5 3.1 1.8 1.1 9.2 
			 England and Wales 1,598 610 1,575 1,018 345 4,128 
			        
			 2008-09       
			 East Midlands 138 58 143 84 32 371 
			 Nottinghamshire 22.5 10.0 26.3 14.3 5.4 64.2 
			 Ashfield       
			  3.4 1.5 3.3 1.8 1.0 9.2

SCOTLAND

Business: Loans

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Funding for Lending Scheme on Scottish businesses.

Michael Moore: The Bank of England and HM Treasury launched the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) on 13 July 2012. The scheme is designed to provide strong incentives to banks and building societies to boost lending to households and non-financial businesses across the UK, including in Scotland. The scheme will reduce the funding costs of banks and building societies, which will allow them to make loans cheaper and more easily available. Some banks may offer specific business loans and mortgages linked to the FLS, whereas others may reduce interest rates or change the terms and conditions on existing products.
	The scheme is already having a positive effect in Scotland. For example, RBS, one of the two major SME lenders in Scotland, has announced that thanks to FLS it will waive fees for every SME granted a loan and reduce SME borrowing costs by 1% on average and 1.6% for smaller SMEs. The Bank of England will publish data on the usage of the FLS along with lending data from the participants on a quarterly basis.

Cabinet

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what bilateral meetings he has had with each of his Cabinet colleagues since May 2010.

Michael Moore: I have had regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues since May 2010 on a range of issues affecting Scotland. These discussions take place in a number of forums, including bilaterals, Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings, and in regular informal discussions.

Construction

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of the recession on the construction industry in Scotland.

Michael Moore: Official GDP figures for Scottish construction show a 6.9% fall during the first quarter of 2012. While these figures are disappointing, the UK Government are taking firm action through initiatives such as the Funding for Lending Scheme and the new UK Guarantees Scheme, which will dramatically accelerate major infrastructure investment.
	The UK Government have already brought forward the means to help with major projects such as the Forth Replacement Crossing. In addition, since the spending review 2010 the Scottish Government received over £1 billion of additional Barnett consequentials. This includes more than £432 million in capital spending alone as part of the autumn statement.

Insolvency

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the recent changes in the level of personal insolvencies in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Moore: Official statistics show there were 5,601 personal insolvencies in Scotland in the first quarter of 2012-13. This figure represents a 5.3% increase on the same period in the previous year. Against a challenging economic backdrop, the Government are pursuing policies to support families and return the economy to balanced, sustainable growth.

Unemployment

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the potential effect of under-employment on the Scottish economy.

Michael Moore: I meet with my ministerial colleagues on a regular basis to discuss matters concerning the economy in Scotland. The latest official Scottish labour market figures for the quarter up to June show an increase of 12,000 in employment and a fall in unemployment. In fact, unemployment has fallen for the fifth consecutive month of reporting. The Work programme is continuing to provide support for people on their way to long-term employment.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Flood Control

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the £72 million funding from third-party sources for flood defences, which third parties have contributed funding; how much each third party has contributed; and which projects in each parliamentary constituency will receive funds from this source.

Richard Benyon: Best estimates indicate that partnership funding should secure around £72 million of external funding on top of the £2.17 billion the Government are investing in flood prevention over this spending period (April 2011 to March 2015). Contributions have come forward from businesses, local authorities and communities.
	The following table lists schemes moving into construction this year (2012-13) where there are confirmed external contributions. Schemes commencing construction in future years do not, as yet, have confirmed funding.
	
		
			 Annex 1 Table listing details of schemes proceeding in 2012-13 with external contributions [data accurate as of February 2012] 
			 Project name MP Constituency RFCC Total cost £ million Total external contributions £ million 
			 River Mersey Warrington FRM Scheme David Mowat Warrington South North West 28.9 6.6 
			 Morpeth Flood Alleviation Scheme Ian Lavery Wansbeck Northumbria 21.0 10.4 
			 Sandwich Town Tidal Defences Laura Sandys South Thannet Southern 19.9 10.0 
			 Salmons Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme Nick Dubois Enfield North Thames 8.4 3.9 
			 Littlehampton Arun Tidal Defences East Bank Nick Gibb MP Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Southern 11.5 0.7 
			 Godmanchester Flood Defence Improvement Scheme Jonathan Djanogly Huntingdon Anglian Central 8.8 3.7 
			 Chelmsford Flood Alleviation Scheme Simon Burns Chelmsford Anglian Eastern 8.6 5.1 
			 Hatton, Scropton and Egginton, Lower River Dove, Flood Alleviation Scheme Heather Wheeler South Derbyshire Midlands 7.1 2.0 
			 Thames Weirs High Priority Programme Package 2 Nicola Blackwood Oxford West and Abingdon Thames 4.3 0.3 
			 Seaton Carew Northern Management Unit Phase 2 Iain Wright Hartlepool Northumbria 4.1 0.1 
			 Water End Flood Alleviation Scheme, York Hugh Bayley York Central Yorkshire 3.4 1.0 
			 Newbury Flood Alleviation Scheme Richard Benyon Newbury Thames 2.5 0.3 
			 Beverley Brook at Worcester Park Paul Burstow Sutton and Cheam Thames 2.2 1.3 
			 Lewsey Park Flood Storage Area Kelvin Hopkins Luton North Thames 1.9 0.8 
			 West Wittering Flood Banks Andrew Tyrie Chichester Southern 1.7 0.6 
			 Gilberdyke and Blacktoft Flood Management Project David Davies Haltemprice and Howden Yorkshire 1.2 0.6 
			 Eastrington and Laxton Flood Management Project David Davies Haltemprice and Howden Yorkshire 0.8 0.5 
			 Saddler's Mill Stream Culvert Refurbishment Andy Lowe Edmonton Thames 0.8 0.7 
			 Lubbesthorpe Brook, Lubbesthorpe, Leicester, Flood Alleviation Scheme Andrew Robathan South Leicestershire Midlands 0.7 0.5 
			 Fairford Critical Evaluation Geoffrey Clifton- Brown Cotwolds Thames 0.7 0.7 
			 Roaring Gutter Island bank stabilisation Laura Sandys South Thanet Southern 0.6 0.3 
			 Bridge Road Emsworth, Flood Alleviation Works David Willetts Havant Southern 0.4 0.3 
			 Kirkley Stream Peter Adlous Waveney Anglian Eastern 0.4 0.1 
			 Cranleigh Watercourses Anne Milton Guildford Thames 0.3 0.3 
			 Skidby Appraisal and Construction David Davies Haltemprice and Howden Yorkshire 0.3 0.3 
			 Kerridge Pumping Station Improvement Works James Paice East Cambridgeshire Anglian Central 0.3 0.1

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 18 June 2012 regarding puppy farming.

Richard Benyon: I am sorry that my hon. Friend did not receive the reply from my noble Friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach to his letter to the Secretary of State, which was sent on 9 July 2012. I have arranged for a copy to be sent to his parliamentary address.

Milk

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on the proportion of milk permeate in supermarket milk; and if he will introduce requirements for producers to make information about the proportion of milk permeate in milk clearly available to consumers.

Richard Benyon: The Department has not undertaken any research into permeate in drinking milk because under Regulation (EC) 1234/2007 it is against the law to add permeate to drinking milk.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what broadband speed her Department defines as super-fast.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport defines super-fast broadband as having a potential headline access speed of greater than 24 Mbps, with no upper limit.

Correspondence

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, with reference to the letter from her Department dated 30 September 2011, reference number 181868/dm/24, when her Department plans to contact the constituent of the hon. Member for North West Durham, Mrs Lesley Wearmouth.

Edward Vaizey: My officials spoke to the hon. Member's constituent on 3 September. It transpired that an email sent to Mrs Wearmouth in October 2011 was not received. The matter has now been fully resolved.

Public Libraries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information her Department holds on the number of libraries closed in each local authority area in each of the last three financial years; and how many libraries currently operate in each local authority area.

Edward Vaizey: Data about the public library sector are published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Its annual statistics do not provide the number of openings or closures, or the number of libraries that have transferred from the public library service to community management; but instead show the net figure of public libraries open in each year. Data showing the number of public libraries in each library authority in the UK can be found in CIPFA's annual statistics, available in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The Department supplements these data by monitoring proposals about changes to library services across England through information gathered via correspondence, media coverage and from relevant bodies such as Arts Council England. From this monitoring over the past year, the Department estimates that around 60 static libraries closed during 2011-12. During the calendar year to date, the Department also estimates that 40 new or significantly refurbished libraries have opened; full details can be seen in a recent letter to Public Libraries News, which can be found at the following link:
	https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9r-dNr4kPL0NWp6NmVBODdtOGM/edit?pli=1

Public Libraries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent steps her Department has taken specifically targeted at building links between schools and public libraries.

Edward Vaizey: Building on work already undertaken by some authorities, the Department is working with the Department for Education and Arts Council England to develop a pilot scheme to provide automatic library membership for primary school pupils, to encourage them to use their local public library. During the 2012-13 academic year, we will pilot different approaches to test the most effective ways of making these links between schools and public libraries.

Swimming Pools

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will provide additional ring-fenced funding to secure the future of (a) Guisborough, (b) Loftus and (c) Saltburn swimming pools.

Hugh Robertson: The funding of swimming pool provision is a matter for local authorities. Sport England has a number of tools which local authorities can use to help them make informed decisions regarding the need for and location of sports facilities, including swimming pools. Once local authorities have developed a strategic plan for their facilities, they can apply for sports lottery funding from Sport England, which has a range of capital programmes which could support the refurbishment or re-provision of swimming pools.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Autism: Children

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department issues to the police on procedures when dealing with children with aggressive autism.

Damian Green: There is no specific guidance which covers police procedures in relation to responding to children with aggressive autism. However, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Department of Health issued ‘Guidance on Responding to People with Mental Ill Health or Learning Disabilities’ in 2010. Autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) are covered within this guidance.

British Nationality: Assessments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when her Department plans to update its document, “Life in the UK: a Journey to Citizenship”;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of inaccuracies in its document, “Life in the UK: a Journey to Citizenship”; and what assessment her Department has made of the effect of such inaccuracies on applicants.

Damian Green: A new edition of the handbook ‘Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship’ is currently being finalised with the aim of publishing it later this year. We are aware that the existing handbook has some out-of-date information, which will be remedied by the publication of a new edition. In the meantime, questions for the life in the UK test which are no longer valid are in any case removed from the question bank so candidates should not suffer any adverse effects.

Dorset Police

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of the damping formula on funding for Dorset constabulary.

Damian Green: Damping is a means of ensuring stability in funding for police authorities between years. The totality of the Home Office Police Core Settlement and funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government and Welsh Government in 2012-13 has been damped so that every force will face an equal percentage reduction (6.7% cash). This is a transparent and straight forward approach which mirrors the approach taken last year.
	In 2012-13, the effect of damping was to reduce the core Government funding to Dorset Police Authority by £2.4 million, compared to what it would receive if the Police Allocation Formula was fully implemented. An informal consultation on damping closed on 29 June 2012. The responses are still being considered, after which a decision will be taken on damping for 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty tickets have been issued for the use of mobile phones while driving (a) nationally and (b) in each police force area in the last three years.

Damian Green: Available data relate to fixed penalty notices issued by the police in England and Wales between 2008 and 2010 and were published in the most recent Home Office statistical release on Police Powers and Procedures. The data are shown in the following table for easy reference. Data for 2011 are scheduled to be published next spring.
	
		
			 Fixed penalty notices issued for the use of a handheld mobile phone while driving: England and Wales, 2008 to 2010 
			 Police force and region 2008 2009 2010 Total 
			 Cleveland 1,151 1,420 1,481 4,052 
			 Durham 933 953 1,023 2,909 
			 Northumbria 2,056 2,280 2,237 6,573 
			 North East region 4,140 4,653 4,741 13,534 
			      
			 Cheshire 3,270 3,776 4,165 11,211 
			 Cumbria 754 1,081 1,050 2,915 
			 Greater Manchester 6,274 6,123 6,020 18,417 
			 Lancashire 3,613 4,827 5,187 13,627 
			 Mersey side 5,506 6,563 6,659 18,928 
			 North West region 19,417 22,370 23,311 65,098 
			      
			 Humberside 2,489 2,672 2,489 7,650 
			 North Yorkshire 2,333 2,273 3,290 7,896 
			 South Yorkshire 3,304 3,403 3,712 10,419 
			 West Yorkshire 4,041 4,708 5,128 13,877 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region 12,167 13,056 14,619 39,842 
		
	
	
		
			      
			 Derbyshire 2,082 1,480 1,411 4,973 
			 Leicestershire 1,071 1,752 1,729 4,552 
			 Lincolnshire 2,109 1,626 1,526 5,261 
			 Northamptonshire 973 1,543 1,620 4,136 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,045 2,178 2,325 6,548 
			 East Midlands region 8,280 8,579 8,611 25,470 
			      
			 Staffordshire 1,148 795 980 2,923 
			 Warwickshire 1,487 1,875 2,109 5,471 
			 West Mercia 4,314 3,408 2,894 10,616 
			 West Midlands 5,373 6,112 5,311 16,796 
			 West Midlands region 12,322 12,190 11,294 35,806 
			      
			 Bedfordshire 1,274 1,249 1,185 3,708 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,487 1,964 2,226 6,677 
			 Essex 6,553 7,971 7,411 21,935 
			 Hertfordshire 3,637 3,793 3,626 11,056 
			 Norfolk 1,816 2,350 2,024 6,190 
			 Suffolk 2,607 1,747 699 5,053 
			 East of England region 18,374 19,074 17,171 54,619 
			      
			 City of London 551 499 566 1,616 
			 Metropolitan 8,537 7,383 7,611 23,531 
			 London region 9,088 7,882 8,177 25,147 
			      
			 Hampshire 5,152 4,037 1,700 10,889 
			 Kent 3,208 4,597 4,877 12,682 
			 Surrey 2,939 2,605 3,388 8,932 
			 Sussex 2,742 3,623 4,250 10,615 
			 Thames Valley 5,836 5,629 4,183 15,650 
			 South East region 19,879 20,491 16,398 58,768 
			      
			 Avon and Somerset 2,013 2,094 2,015 6,122 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,245 2,860 2,937 8,042 
			 Dorset 1,489 1,475 1,129 4,093 
			 Gloucestershire 800 1,183 1,218 3,201 
			 Wiltshire 1,175 1,256 1,886 4,317 
			 South West region 7,722 8,868 9,185 25,775 
			      
			 England 111,389 117,163 115,507 344,059 
			      
			 Dyfed-Powys 832 1,196 1,906 3,934 
			 Gwent 1,174 1,265 1,864 4,303 
			 North Wales 2,471 2,757 1,885 7,113 
			 South Wales 2,804 3,137 3,566 9,507 
			      
			 Wales 7,281 8,355 9,221 24,857 
			      
			 England and Wales 118,670 125,518 124,728 368,916

JUSTICE

Driving Offences: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average fine was for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third-party risks by area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders fined at all courts and the average fine given for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third-party risks, by police force area in England and Wales, for 2011 can be viewed in the table as follows.
	
		
			 Offenders fined at all court and the average fine given for using a vehicle uninsured(1), by police force area, England and Wales, 2011(2) 
			 Police force area Total fined Average fine (£) 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,581 237.04 
			 Bedfordshire 1,397 256.88 
			 Cambridgeshire 888 251.29 
			 Cheshire 1,911 326.87 
			 Cleveland 678 253.35 
			 Cumbria 829 233.38 
			 Derbyshire 1,589 284.76 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,982 246.11 
			 Dorset 1,209 299.51 
			 Durham 1,085 228.19 
			 Essex 2,579 290.21 
			 Gloucestershire 807 250.69 
			 Greater Manchester 3,793 256.86 
			 Hampshire 2,151 253.21 
			 Hertfordshire 2,463 290.08 
			 Humberside 1,590 225.41 
			 Kent 2,782 293.84 
			 Lancashire 3,597 293.24 
			 Leicestershire 1,219 259.91 
			 Lincolnshire 1,288 281.86 
			 London City of 405 335.80 
			 Merseyside 2,378 261.65 
			 Metropolitan Police 18,844 313.92 
			 Norfolk 1,248 261.48 
			 Northamptonshire 1,445 321.96 
			 Northumbria 2,626 234.25 
			 North Yorkshire 1,018 256.87 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,341 265.35 
			 South Yorkshire 2,254 235.49 
			 Staffordshire 1,577 266.01 
			 Suffolk 895 252.63 
			 Surrey 1,530 294.01 
			 Sussex 1,969 258.19 
			 Thames Valley 1,962 270.02 
			 Warwickshire 1,006 358.54 
			 West Mercia 1,744 274.20 
			 West Midlands 5,263 270.95 
			 West Yorkshire 4,991 311.17 
			 Wiltshire 690 294.31 
			 Dyfed Powys 1,062 280.56 
		
	
	
		
			 Gwent 1,122 263.84 
			 North Wales 1,283 296.47 
			 South Wales 3,526 241.36 
			 England and Wales 95,597 280.34 
			 (1) Offence used: Road Traffic Act 1988, S.143(2)—Using motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hearings for appeals against refusal of employment and support allowance which have been upheld were (a) paper hearings where the appellant was not in attendance, (b) hearings with the appellant in attendance but without representation and (c) hearings with the appellant in attendance with representation since the introduction of that allowance.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) are heard by the first-tier tribunal (social security and child support).
	The following table shows the number of upheld ESA appeals where (a) the appellant/representative was not in attendance, (b) the appellant was in attendance but without representation and (c) the appellant was in attendance with representation since the introduction of that allowance. Appeals can be made against elements of an ESA award made, such as the rate of entitlement, as well as against the decision to refuse ESA. These appeals are included in the figures provided as follows.
	
		
			 Upheld employment and support allowance appeals 
			   2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 (a) Total number of hearings where the appellant/representative was not in attendance 40 16,600 41,600 45,400 
			  Appeals upheld where the appellant/representative was not in attendance (1)0 2,200 6,700 6,800 
			       
			 (b) Total number of hearings where appellant was in attendance without representation (1)0 16,800 40,200 62,300 
			  Appeals upheld where the appellant was in attendance without representation (1)0 9,400 23,300 35,800 
			       
			 (c) Total number of hearings where the appellant was in attendance with representation (1)0 8,500 18,200 23,700 
		
	
	
		
			  Appeals upheld with the appellant in attendance with representation (1)0 6,000 12,900 16,800 
			 (1) Employment and support allowance (ESA) was introduced on 27 October 2008, replacing incapacity benefit. There were therefore only a very small number of appeals in 2008-09. 
		
	
	The data are sourced from published statistics, and management information Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Prisoners: Community Work

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the policy of the Prison Service is on allowing prisoners with indefinite sentences for public protection to undertake work in the community; and what supervision they receive for such work.

Jeremy Wright: Prison rules allow for prisoners to apply for release on temporary licence (ROTL). This enables prisoners to participate in necessary activities, outside the prison establishment, that directly contribute to their resettlement into the community and their development of a purposeful, law-abiding life. Temporary release provides prisoners with a phased re-introduction into the community and is particularly important for long-term prisoners who may have been in custody for a number of years. Prisoners are not granted temporary release unless they meet stringent eligibility criteria and pass a rigorous risk assessment. Prisoners serving indeterminate public protection (IPP) sentences may only be considered for ROTL after they have reached the point in their sentence when they have been approved by the Parole Board as suitable for open conditions. Some forms of ROTL are for the purpose of allowing prisoners to work outside the prison. This can range from supervised activities, where a group of prisoners go out with prison officers who monitor and oversee the work, to individual unsupervised work placements. Prisoners would normally be expected to begin with supervised activities and work towards unsupervised work placements depending on progress against their sentence plan and assessments of risk and suitability.

Prisoners: Community Work

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners absconded from work placements in the community and whilst travelling to or from work placements in the community in the last year for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the total number of prisoners who failed to return to prison following release on temporary licence (ROTL) in the 12 months from April 2011 to March 2012. This includes failures to return from all types of ROTL and not just prisoners outside the prison on work placements. Without incurring disproportionate cost, the numbers cannot be broken down further to identify those who failed to return from work placements or whilst travelling to or from work. Of the 211 prisoners listed here, 197 have been returned to custody.
	
		
			 Table 1: Prisoners released on licence, and who failed to returnApril 2011 to March 2012 
			  Non returns 
			 April 2011 19 
			 May 2011 13 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2011 14 
			 July 2011 19 
			 August 2011 22 
			 September 2011 22 
			 October 2011 25 
			 November 2011 14 
			 December 2011 13 
			 January 2012 22 
			 February 2012 16 
			 March 2012 12 
			 Grand Total 211 
			 Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. The number of failures to return may change should further incidents be reported.

Prisoners: Community Work

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what risk assessment was carried out by the Prison Service before allowing Bernard Lee Sharkey to work at Newham Grange Country Farm in Coulby Newham.

Jeremy Wright: As the case of Mr Sharkey is subject to ongoing inquiries, it would not be appropriate to comment upon the individual circumstances of his case at this time.
	An indeterminate sentence prisoner is transferred to open conditions only after a robust risk assessment and, in most cases, upon the recommendation of the independent Parole Board. It is recognised that open prisons provide a controlled environment in which to test prisoners in conditions more closely akin to the outside community. It provides them with an opportunity to establish stronger links with their family and to develop suitable employment and accommodation plans in time for their eventual release.
	Indeterminate sentence prisoners who fail to comply with the regime or whose behaviour gives cause for concern are swiftly returned to secure conditions.
	At HMP Kirklevington Grange, all indeterminate sentence prisoners are required to undertake a phased return to the community which involves working out in the community. Before permitting temporary release, the prison will conduct a further risk assessment and consider the suitability of the prisoner for the particular type of placement proposed.
	Temporary release on licence will be approved by the Governor only if the risk presented by the prisoner to the community is such that it may be effectively managed. Prisoners who fail to return from a period of temporary release may be arrested and returned to prison, where they can face prison disciplinary measures or prosecution carrying a maximum penalty of a further six months imprisonment.

Wellingborough Prison

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of staff employed at Wellingborough Prison was in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is set out in the following table, shown both as full-time equivalent and headcount.
	
		
			  Monthly average number of staff: 
			  Full-time equivalent Headcount 
			 2007-08 340 352 
			 2008-09 336 350 
			 2009-10 318 333 
			 2010-11 256 270 
			 2011-12 250 262

Wellingborough Prison

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of prisoners held at Wellingborough Prison was in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Data are not held centrally on the average prison population in each establishment. Instead, we typically use the 30 June figures to look at annual trends. The following table shows the number of prisoners held in HMP Wellingborough as at 30 June each year from 2008-12.
	
		
			 Prison population at HMP Wellingborough as at end of June(1) 
			  Number 
			 2008 641 
			 2009 626 
			 2010 540 
			 2011 580 
			 2012 563 
			 (1) 2009 data onwards are based on data from a new prison IT system. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total monetary value was of the Medical Services contract between his Department and Atos Healthcare in 2011-12; and what the projected value of the contract is for 2012-13.

Mark Hoban: The total cost of the Medical Services contract amounts for the 2011-12 financial year was approximately £112.4 million. This figure covers not only the total number of medical assessments undertaken across all benefits, but costs relating to written and verbal medical advice, fixed overheads, administrative costs, investment in new technology and other service improvements.

Bereavement Benefits

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that those who are eligible for bereavement benefits take them up.

Steve Webb: The Government keep under review the way that information is made available about benefits so that bereaved people, at this very difficult time in their lives, know about their possible right to benefit and can act on it at the right time.
	This builds on the continued roll-out of Tell Us Once, where people will be asked whether they would like to claim bereavement benefits when a death is registered.

Bereavement Benefits

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many individuals have claimed bereavement benefit in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who are eligible for bereavement benefit.

Steve Webb: The Government keep under review the way that information is made available about benefits so that bereaved people, at this very difficult time in their lives, know about their possible right to benefit and can act on it at the right time.
	This builds on the continued roll-out of Tell Us Once, where people will be asked whether they would like to claim bereavement benefits when a death is registered.
	National Statistics datasets contain information on the new claims for all regularly paid bereavement benefits (sum of fresh claims for bereavement allowance and widowed parent's allowance together). This information is available on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website through the Statistics Tabulation Tool:
	http://83.244.183.180/flows/flows_on/bb/cdquarter/ccbbtype/a_carate_r_cdquarter_c_ccbbtype.html
	The total number of new claims made for such benefits in each of the last five years (those who started a claim from the quarter ending May 2007 to the quarter ending February 2012) was between 25 and 27 thousand per year.
	The Department does not as a matter of course publish statistics on bereavement payment; however, page seven of the benefit reform impact assessment indicates the number of claims of this kind:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/bereavement-benefit-reform-ia.pdf
	The Department does not have an estimate of how many individuals are eligible for bereavement benefit.

Employment: Disability

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people living in Birmingham have moved into work in each of the last two years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobseeker's allowance claimants, in which Jobcentre Plus districts, and over what period have been required to participate in the Fast Signing procedure;
	(2)  what the evidential basis was for his decision to require some jobseeker’s allowance claimants to participate in Fast Signing procedures as an alternative to the Jobcentre Plus standard operating model.

Steve Webb: The Department is currently trialling reduced-length fortnightly jobsearch reviews (or ‘speed signing’) to gather evidence on the most effective way to support claimants off benefits.
	The trial is taking place in two Jobcentre Plus districts: Greater Manchester East and West and Surrey and Sussex. 15,670 claimants were randomly allocated to receive speed signing before recruitment to the trial closed in May 2012. This was the number of people judged necessary to give the trial a reasonable chance of detecting a statistically significant impact. These participants will continue to receive speed signing until May 2013, unless they leave benefit or join the Work programme. A pilot in 2005 showed that shortening the length of a fortnightly jobsearch review did not have a statistically significant impact on off-flow rates. However, the 2005 trial involved a relatively small number of participants. There is therefore a need to repeat the trial with more participants in order to generate more robust results.
	The quantitative evaluation of the 2005 pilot is presented in DWP Research Report 382, which is available at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep382.pdf

Remploy

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations his Department has engaged to deliver the Remploy Mentoring for Success programme; and how much each organisiation is to be paid.

Esther McVey: I can confirm that the two organisations that have been engaged to deliver the Remploy Mentoring for Success programme to support people affected by the Remploy factory closures are “The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation” and “Equal Approach”.
	Remploy has been commissioned by DWP to deliver the Mentoring for Success programme. The Department has allocated a total budget of £700,000. To deliver this programme, Remploy is working with the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation along with Equal Approach. How much each organisation is paid depends on the uptake of the Mentoring service currently being offered within the 27 factories, operations at Boston Spa and to Modernisation employees. It is an optional support for employees and the actual costs could result in being lower. Final costs are not fixed and will be determined by how many Mentors are needed.

Remploy

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has allocated to the Remploy Mentoring for Success programme.

Esther McVey: I can confirm that a sum of £700,000 has been allocated to deliver the Remploy Mentoring for Success programme to support people affected by the Remploy factory closures.

Universal Credit

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make provision in the universal credit system to ensure that people in need of refuge support as a consequence of domestic violence have access to short-term housing support equivalent to that provided under the current housing benefit system.

Steve Webb: The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence and providing better support for victims. It is our intention that universal credit will not cause a reduction in support levels for victims of domestic violence.
	The housing benefit rules that currently apply for those living in refuges and other supported housing are complex to administer and understand. We do not intend to reduce the overall level of support that the sector currently receives from housing benefit but we do intend to simplify and streamline the current arrangements.
	We have conducted a consultation on proposals to redesign and simplify these arrangements and we received a substantial number of often comprehensive replies. We are continuing to develop plans for new funding arrangements under universal credit and we expect to announce further information in due course.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he plans that eligible service charges will be paid for under universal credit.

Steve Webb: Social rented sector landlords will be responsible for setting out clearly to the tenant those charges which are allowable. The claimant will report this as part of their claim.
	In the private rented sector a tenant's rent liability is usually made up of both rent and service charges with the various elements not separately identifiable. In these cases, as now, we will therefore pay the lesser of the total rent or the appropriate local housing allowance rate.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has carried out analysis of future universal credit claimants to establish (a) how many households will be affected by the transition to universal credit, (b) how many such claimants are worried about the change to universal credit and (c) how many claimants will be capable of managing universal credit; and if he will place a copy of any such analysis in the Library.

Mark Hoban: The Department estimates that 12 million claims to current benefits and tax credits will be integrated into eight million household claims to universal credit.
	‘Work and the welfare system: a survey of benefits and tax credits recipients’ was published on 12 July 2012. The research was commissioned to help DWP implement universal credit by providing detailed information on views and attitudes to work, budgeting skills and internet use among a representative sample of benefit units who would be impacted by the transition to universal credit.
	We recognise that some claimants may need additional help to budget, particularly during the transitional period. We are working with the advice sector to ensure that claimants are able to access appropriate budgeting support services to enable them to manage their money successfully.
	For a minority of claimants, however, an alternative payment arrangement may be required in addition to the above support. This includes making more frequent than monthly payments of universal credit to households, splitting payment between both joint claimants or paying housing costs directly to the landlord.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has issued any guidance or recommendations to Atos on the degree of variance from the average outcomes that should trigger an audit of a health professional's work capability assessment decisions.

Steve Webb: As part of quality monitoring procedures, DWP and Atos have agreed ranges for a number of parameters relating to the outcome of health care professionals (HCPs) advice within which the vast majority of HCPs fall. An example of one of these parameters is the percentage of claimants whom the HCP advises satisfy the support group criteria: If the HCP falls outside this range, they are subject to quality assurance procedures to ensure that the quality of their advice is satisfactory. If quality assurance identifies no problems then no further action is undertaken.

HEALTH

Blood: Contamination

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2012, Official Report, column 26W, on blood: contamination; for what reason the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs, reversed its 2009 recommendation on the importation of Fresh Frozen Plasma although the risk of transmitted variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease by blood remains unchanged; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  with reference to the minutes of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs meeting of 9 March 2012, to what extent cost-effectiveness is used to inform Government policy on public health safety measures on (a) blood safety and (b) variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease;
	(3)  if he will publish the data his Department used to inform its decision to accept the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs on Fresh Frozen Plasma of 9 March 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  for what reason the data his Department used to inform its decision on the importation of fresh frozen plasma is not publicly available;
	(5)  what the names are of the companies his Department and its relevant committees approached to (a) inform their thinking on extending importation of fresh frozen plasma and (b) estimate the cost of extending importation of fresh frozen plasma; and when each company was approached.

Daniel Poulter: On making the March 2012 decision on the importation of fresh frozen plasma, the independent scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) considered all the available evidence including safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. SaBTO concluded that there should be no extension of the importation of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to patients beyond those for whom it is already recommended (high-usage adult patients, and those aged 16 and under —i.e. born since 1996), who are unlikely to have been exposed to BSE through diet). SaBTO's terms of reference require consideration of cost-effectiveness evidence when making recommendations. A key consideration is the number of potential future clinical vCJD cases that might be caused by transfusion of FFP in the absence of any extension to importation. Given the continuing scientific uncertainties, a precautionary approach remains justified, and a wide range of scenarios have been considered. Nevertheless, the continuing absence to date of any known clinical cases attributable to FFP transfusion restricts the range of future possibilities, and the cost-effectiveness calculations used by SaBTO reflect this point.
	Information used by SaBTO in making its recommendation is publicly available, redacted in accordance with freedom of information principles, at:
	www.transparency.dh.gov.uk/2012/04/24/sabto-9-march-2012/
	A copy has also been placed in the Library.
	Details that could provide commercial information are not included for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department had with (a) industry and (b) other Government Departments and agencies to ensure that they have put in place dementia-friendly policies since the Prime Minister's challenge on dementia.

Norman Lamb: As part of the Prime Minister's challenge on dementia, the dementia-friendly communities champion group, which is co-chaired by Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, and Angela Rippon, is taking forward work with a range of organisations, including industry, to deliver key commitments relating to dementia-friendly communities. By 2015, we want to see up to 20 cities, towns and villages signed up to become more dementia-friendly and we want to see support from leading businesses for the Challenge. This work is being supported by the Dementia Action Alliance, which is a group of over 100 organisations, including charities, businesses and industry, who have signed up to the National Dementia Declaration and are working together to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. Each member of the Alliance has published an action plan setting out publicly what it will do to help improve outcomes for people with dementia and their carers over the lifetime of the National Dementia Strategy to 2014. All Government Departments were engaged with the development of the Prime Minister's Challenge on Dementia and we will continue to work with them as the challenge is implemented. The Champion Group will be reporting its progress to the Prime Minister in the autumn as part of a wider report on the implementation of the Challenge.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he has put in place to ensure consistency among GP commissioning boards in different areas when prescribing medicines for people with dementia.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued technology appraisal guidance in March 2011 that recommends three drugs, donepezii, galantamine, and rivastigmine, as options for the management of mild to moderate dementia, and a fourth drug, memantine, for the management of severe dementia. Primary care trusts are legally required by a direction from the Secretary of State for Health to make funding available to enable clinicians to prescribe treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of publication of final guidance. The Government have committed to ensuring that national health service commissioners will continue to be required to make funding available for drugs and treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisals. Decisions on the prescribing of drugs for the treatment of individual patients with dementia are made by clinicians.

Diseases: Health Services

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the NHS Commissioning Board expects to establish a system for the commissioning of treatments for rare and specialised conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The NHS Commissioning Board will take on its specialised commissioning functions on 1 April 2013.
	The board will operate one national commissioning policy that is sensitive to local needs and it is currently designing its processes.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his policy is on the regulation of drug rehabilitation centres;
	(2)  whether he plans to give each local authority the right to limit the number of drug rehabilitation centres in its area.

Daniel Poulter: As part of the Government's public health reforms, from April 2013 the commissioning of services to treat dependence on drugs and alcohol will be the responsibility of local authorities. This will help ensure that local health services are appropriate to local health needs.
	The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates, inspects and reviews all residential treatment facilities in England. All such services have to be registered with the CQC and, under the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to be registered providers must show that they are meeting essential standards of quality and safety in all of the regulated activities that they provide. If a provider is not registered with the CQC, they cannot legally provide the service.
	New residential treatment facilities will generally require planning permission from the local council (exceptions are changes from existing residential facilities).

Epilepsy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 701W, on epilepsy, in which month the study is expected to be published; and whether the follow up to the study will include consultation with patients and patient groups.

Norman Lamb: The final report of the systematic rapid evidence assessment is currently being peer-reviewed. It is expected to be published in late 2012. Consideration about how patients and patient groups should be involved in any next steps linked to the report's findings will be given when these become available.

First Aid

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential for community first aid responders to attend category A incidents in circumstances where the ambulance service may face delays.

Anna Soubry: The Department has made no assessment of community first aid responders.
	Community first responders (CFRs) already attend category A (immediately life-threatening) incidents, in addition to an ambulance or rapid response vehicle, if this is deemed by the ambulance service to be the most appropriate response. They often attend incidents in rural areas or those that are difficult for ambulances to reach within the target time of eight minutes.
	CFRs are a feature of service delivery in most ambulance services and a key part of increasing the flexibility and range of the response to 999 calls.

General Practitioners: Training

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of GPs who have participated in leadership courses in the last two years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold this information. The information requested may be available locally.

Mephedrone

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many reports his Department received of health treatment for misuse of the drug M-Cat in the last year;
	(2)  what treatment the NHS provides for misuse of the drug M-Cat.

Daniel Poulter: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System records information on the numbers of adults and young people (under 18) in contact with specialist drug services in England.
	The latest figures from 2010-11 show that 461 adults and 411 young people identified mephedrone (sometimes referred to as ‘M-Cat’) as their main problem drug.
	Treatment is available in the community for people who have a mephedrone problem. Treatment consists of psychosocial techniques, in the form of talking therapies which help users to understand and then to change their behaviour.

National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 on rural communities and of whether any amendment of those regulations would be desirable.

Anna Soubry: The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 (as amended) were replaced by the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2012 on 1 September 2012. It is our policy to enable patients to benefit wherever feasible from the professional services of both general practitioners and pharmacists. Doctors may exceptionally provide NHS dispensing services to patients who live in designated rural areas and are subject to specific conditions set out in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2012.

NHS: Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the development of the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium on the National Agenda for Change negotiations.

Anna Soubry: The majority of trusts will continue to use national terms and conditions of service, provided they remain fit for purpose.

NHS: Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with NHS employers regarding the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium.

Anna Soubry: The Department has had very limited discussions with NHS employers regarding the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium. In these discussions, employers have simply kept departmental officials up to date on local developments as a matter of courtesy.
	Many trusts continue to use national terms and conditions of service contained in Agenda for Change, introduced in 2004.

NHS: Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has approved any NHS trust to pay to join the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: It is not the responsibility or role of the Department of Health to approve any NHS trusts paying to join the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium. This is a matter for individual trusts.
	Many trusts continue to use national terms and conditions of service contained in Agenda for Change, introduced in 2004

NHS: Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had regarding the cost to the public purse of an NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium working group.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health has had no discussions regarding the cost to the public purse of a NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium working group.
	Many trusts continue to use national terms and conditions of service contained in Agenda for Change, introduced in 2004.

NHS: Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has oversight of the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium's budget.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not have oversight of the NHS South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium's budget.
	Many trusts continue to use national terms and conditions of service contained in Agenda for Change, introduced in 2004.

NHS: Property

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his policy is on the uses to which receipts from property sales by NHS Property Services Ltd retained by his Department can be put; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether receipts from property sales by NHS Property Services Ltd will be retained by his Department or passed over to HM Treasury;
	(3)  whether the public expenditure increase for his Department represented by receipts from property sales by NHS Property Services Ltd which are retained by his Department will be offset by a corresponding decrease in his Department's public expenditure total.

Anna Soubry: Plans for any sale proceeds (receipts) realised from surplus primary care trust (PCT) estate after March 2013 are still to be finalised. As with all funds provided to the Department, we prioritise funding that delivers the greatest benefits to patients and the best value for money for the taxpayer.
	Capital receipts do not reduce the departments expenditure limits; in fact, the reverse is true. As departmental expenditure limits are set net of receipts, capital receipts increase the amount of capital expenditure available to the Department. The rules on retention of capital receipts are laid out in HM Treasury's consolidated budgeting guidance. These allow Government Departments to keep any receipts they obtain in the spending review (SR) period, up to the amount that was taken into account in the SR.
	HM Treasury recognises that income cannot be predicted wholly accurately and also wishes to encourage Departments to find new income streams where appropriate. Departments may therefore, in any year, also retain receipts up to 20% above the level envisaged for that year as part of the SR settlement without an adjustment to budgets.
	If Departments expect to obtain more receipts than provided for in the SR, they should talk to the Treasury about whether they may retain all or part of the income without an adjustment to budgets. When considering proposals, the Treasury will wish in particular to encourage additional income where this represents the results of positive management action, as opposed to under-forecasting. Work is continuing to determine whether potential receipts from the surplus PCT estate are now likely to exceed the amount originally forecast to a greater extent than that allowed for in the Treasury's consolidated budgeting guidance.

Obesity: Children

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission an assessment of the research conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit into the number of girls and boys aged between 14 and 15 years who would like to lose weight; and if he will consider the implications of that research for public health policy.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has no current plans to commission an assessment of the research by the Schools Health Education Unit. However, the Department does take relevant research into account in developing public health policy.

Palliative Care: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much local authorities have spent on end-of-life care in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands in each year since 2009.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally.

Perinatal Mortality

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the implications for his policies of the findings of the report by Sands on preventing babies' deaths; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: We have made reducing perinatal mortality, including stillbirth, an area of improvement for the national health service in the NHS Outcomes Framework for 2012-13, and as a result women who have suffered a stillbirth will receive additional support from the NHS.
	Following publication of the Sands report, the Department has worked closely with Sands and other organisations to develop a stillbirth prevention work programme. This programme will be overseen by a small group, including representatives from Sands, and will be supported by a number of advisory groups whose membership will be tailored to the specific issue they are addressing.

Perinatal Mortality

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provides for research into the causes and prevention of stillbirth.

Anna Soubry: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a range of research relating to stillbirth causes, risk factors and prevention.
	The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme is currently funding a £6 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram. The study started in 2009 and is led by University College London. It will test whether an intelligent computer program can help midwives and doctors improve the care they give in response to abnormalities of the baby's heart rate and whether this will lead to fewer babies being harmed because of a lack of oxygen.
	The HTA programme is also funding a £1.4 million trial of nicotine replacement therapy in pregnancy led by the University of Nottingham, and a £1.2 million trial of physical activity as an aid to smoking cessation during pregnancy led by St. George's, University of London.
	The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre has an ongoing programme of research on women's health. A major focus of this research is understanding the determinants of stillbirth risk.
	The usual practice of the Department's INIIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including stillbirth. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Streptococcus: Babies

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of infections among newborn babies of the introduction of the Royal College of Obstetricians' and Gynaecologists 2003 guidelines in respect of group B streptococcus.

Daniel Poulter: The group B streptococcus (GBS) rate has increased from 311 in 2003 to 452 in 2010.
	The National Screening Committee (NSC) commissioned an audit in 2005 to evaluate the practice in UK obstetric units on the prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcus (GBS) disease in relation to the recommendations of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist (RCOG) in the college's Green-Top guideline.
	For recommended standards of care the RCOG published on 18 July 2012 a revised Green-Top guideline to take into account any new evidence on the prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcus disease.
	In addition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a new guideline on antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of early-onset neonatal infection, including GBS on 22 August 2012.
	The UK National Screening Committee is currently reviewing the evidence for screening for group B streptococcus in pregnancy against its (the committee's) criteria. A public consultation on the screening review opened on 16 July 2012 and will close on 23 October 2012.

Streptococcus: Babies

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department has conducted any international comparative analyses of measures for preventing group B streptococcus infection in newborn babies;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure enriched culture method testing for detecting group B streptococcus carriage among newborn babies is made available across the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC advises Ministers and the NHS in all four UK countries about all aspects of screening policy, including screening policy for group B streptococcus (GBS) carriage in pregnancy. In 2008-09 the UK NSC recommended that a national screening programme to test for GBS carriage in pregnancy using the enriched culture medium test should not be offered. The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for screening for GBS carriage in pregnancy using the enriched culture medium test against its criteria again. A public consultation on the screening review opened on 16 July 2012 and will close on 23 October 2012. The Department expects to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC in the autumn.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Arakan State, Burma, since 1 June 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: According to the Rakhine (Arakan) State Government there are now a total of 69,551 Internally Displaced People in Sittwe, Maungdaw and Kyauktaw. At the request of the Government, humanitarian agencies are providing assistance and operating in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Priority sectors agreed upon by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations include shelter, food, water and sanitation, health and nutrition, and protection.

Burma

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid her Department provides to the Burmese Government; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not provide aid directly to the central Government of Burma. UK aid in Burma goes only through United Nations organisations and trusted international and local non-governmental organisations. Where circumstances allow, some of these funds go through township authorities for basic service delivery.

Burma

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she plans to take to ensure that victims of violence in Arakan State, Burma, from Rohingya and Rakhine communities receive humanitarian assistance without discrimination and that all those in need receive assistance.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government have repeatedly called for the Government of Burma to allow unhindered humanitarian access to all of the areas affected. Humanitarian agencies, including those which receive core funding from the United Kingdom, are now able to provide aid to some of the affected areas in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence—but this falls short of what is needed. We continue to monitor the situation and humanitarian response closely.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the average time taken was by her Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period.

Alan Duncan: The average time taken by DFID to reply to correspondence over the last 12 months was nine days.
	DFID is not aware of any letters that fall into categories (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e).
	The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that it meets the target of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas development assistance by 2013.

Justine Greening: My Department's settlement with Her Majesty's Treasury, as adjusted in the 2011 autumn statement, is sufficient, along with Official Development Assistance (ODA) from other Government Departments and forecasts for non-delegated expenditure limit ODA, to meet the Government's commitment of spending 0.7% of gross national income as ODA in 2013.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much overseas development assistance has been spent in the private sector, by country, since June 2010.

Justine Greening: The private sector plays an important role in delivering some of the Department for International Development's (DFID) aid programmes.
	DFID publishes details of Official Development Assistance by country in its annual publication, “Statistics on International Development”:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2011/
	Information on spend in the private sector is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Syria

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of street children in Syria;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to help street children in Syria.

Alan Duncan: We remain gravely concerned by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and the effects of the conflict on all segments of society, including children. That is why the UK has now committed £30.5 million to the humanitarian crisis affecting Syria, over half of which is dedicated to meeting essential humanitarian needs of those in Syria.
	Since July, UK support has provided food to 145,000 internally displaced people, water and sanitation to 60,000, targeted medical services and supplies for up to 25,000, and shelter and relief items across the country. Our aid is not specifically targeted at children, but it will reach them along with others in need.
	We are also supporting the work of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN body charged with ensuring children's safety, with refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. UNICEF's work includes providing counselling and child protection and supporting children to continue their education.